Use Case

CISO Top Risks and Controls Prioritization

Risk is on a spectrum, and your most powerful tool is your ability to measure and communicate the impact risk effectively. By leveraging data-driven methods, you can craft a compelling story that clearly illustrates your organization's top cyber and technology risks and the return on risk reduction. Drawing on industry-standard frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK and FAIR-CAM, you can develop a strategy that supports informed decision-making.  

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CISO Top Risks and Control prioritization

A data-driven cybersecurity strategy brings value to your organization

Enterprise functions make decisions based on financial forecasts and measure past performance using financial metrics. For that reason, cybersecurity and cyber risk management has traditionally been viewed from an operational perspective. Quantitative, data-driven cyber risk management methodologies elevate cyber and technology risk management to a strategic role.

With Cyber Risk Quantification analysis using FAIR, we scope your top cyber risks and quantify the Loss Event Frequency and the probable Loss Magnitude, measuring how often a threat event like a data breach could occur and the probable financial impact of a successful breach attempt.

Risk (in €) = Loss Event Frequency (in a %) + Loss Magnitude (in €)

The effectiveness of data-driven methods like CRQ using the FAIR framework is further strengthened when used in conjunction with other cybersecurity and control frameworks such as NIST CSF, CIS V8, Cyber Kill Chain and MITRE ATT&CK.

Control assessments are not just a compliance exercise. When you map your risk scenarios to the MITRE ATT&CK framework, you are able to categorize threats by the techniques and tactics used by attackers. With this granular view, you are able to assess controls that will mitigate the Loss Event Frequency and the probable Loss Magnitude while providing the greatest ROI.

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C-Risk Insight

Quantifying the effectiveness of IT investments in mitigating the impact of cyber threats with CRQ

Case study: A global advertising company enlisted the advisory services of C-Risk

Before launching an extensive Identity and Access Management (IAM) program, and after discussions with the IT department's first line of defense, the CISO needed to determine the control families that are most effective in mitigating ransomware attacks to justify the investment and implementation.

The first step was a macro CRQ of the top risk scenarios related to the decision of the CISO. From this, we quantified the Loss Event Frequency and Loss Magnitude (or financial impact) for each risk scenario. We also mapped the ransomware scenarios to the most common kill chain using MITRE ATT&CK framework. This helped us uncover gaps in controls or which controls were the most effective in mitigating risk. Finally, factoring in the cost of implementation, we were able to quantify the amount of risk that was reduced for every dollar spent. As a result, the CISO was able to make an informed decision regarding prioritization and justify a budget for new controls.

Demonstrate feasibility

Presenting a proof of concept can be a critical step before securing full board support for a new security investment. With Cyber Risk Quantification, you'll quickly have the business metrics to support your proposal.

Informed risk prioritization

Cyber Risk Quantification provides quantified insights into the most critical vulnerabilities, allowing organizations to prioritize their resources and controls effectively, addressing the most costly risks first.

Communicate in business terms

Senior executives may not have IT expertise, but they are increasingly aware of cyber risks. CRQ quantifies risk in financial terms, which can inform decisions on resource allocation and cyber risk oversight.

Discover how to quantify, prioritize, and communicate your organization's top risks for maximum impact
Talk to a C-Risk expert

Our FAIR-certified experts will help you identify your top cyber risks and prioritize your security controls, improve governance and increase your organization's cyber resilience.

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Cyber Risk Quantification informs strategic and tactical decisions

Identify top risks

Risk scenarios with the greatest financial impact on your critical assets are identified and quantified using the FAIR framework

Measure control efficacy

Identify how security controls impact the frequency and impact of a specific scenario along each step of a cyber kill chain

Prioritize controls

Allocate resources effectively with a data-driven approach, using frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK and FAIR-CAM

Communicate

Data-driven recommendations facilitate communication between the 1st line of defense and the 2nd line of defense

Continuous control monitoring

The SAFE One CRQ Platform enables CISOs to track the performance of controls and make defendable decisions on controls spending

CRQ trend reports

CRQ using FAIR is a flexible model that can inform targeted decisions while also being valuable in evaluating broader security strategies over the long term

C-Risk

C-Risk supports your investment decisions with Cyber Risk Quantification

C-Risk supports senior management, CSOs, CISOs, risk managers. We help refine your investment strategies with accurate, data-driven analyses, communicating cyber risks in financial terms.

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risk reduction strategy FAQ

Here are some answers to your commonly asked questions.

What is Cyber Risk Quantification?

Cyber Risk Quantification (CRQ) evaluates the frequency and potential financial impact of a particular cyber threat. Instead of descriptive terms or technical jargon, CRQ translates cyber threats into clear monetary values, making it much easier for decision-makers to understand the potential impact of those risks.

What is a good cybersecurity strategy?

A good cybersecurity strategy is comprehensive, adaptive, and continually evolving to mitigate the risks associated with the dynamic nature of cyber threats. Cyber Risk Quantification using the FAIR standard and methodology identifies the frequency and cost of cyber and technology risk. This risk-based approach makes sure you are spending on security where it provides value and improves cyber resilience.

What are security control families?

Security control families are groups of security controls organized by their functionality or the aspects of security they address like physical access, incident response, denial of service protection. NIST SP 800-53, for example, has 20 security control families and within each family are a number of controls.